UK Public Accounts Committee Launches Inquiry Into Digital ID Plan

The UK Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has launched a formal inquiry into the government’s planned digital ID scheme, examining its purpose, necessity, and the lessons to be drawn from previous failed attempts at national digital identity infrastructure.

The inquiry follows Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s September 2025 announcement of a new digital ID programme with a target launch before the end of the current Parliament in 2029. In January, the government confirmed that the digital ID would not be mandatory but would serve as one of several ways for individuals to prove their right to work in the UK.

The PAC previously scrutinised GOV.UK Verify, the government’s flagship digital identity programme, in a 2019 report that found the system had failed its users and missed all of its original performance targets. Members of the public using Verify were hampered by persistent problems including difficulty signing up and an inability to access multiple government services through a single credential. The programme was ultimately wound down after years of low adoption.

The committee plans to take evidence from senior government officials, user groups, and campaigners. Topics under examination include the purpose and necessity of digital ID in the UK, successes and challenges in previous approaches, and what lessons can be learned from digital ID deployments in other countries. The National Audit Office is also preparing a separate report offering insights into digital identification and assessing the opportunities of the scheme.

The PAC inquiry runs alongside a separate investigation by the Home Affairs Committee, which launched its own inquiry into harnessing the potential of new forms of digital ID in June 2025. Together, the two parliamentary inquiries reflect sustained scrutiny of the government’s digital identity plans and a determination to avoid repeating the systemic failures that plagued GOV.UK Verify.

The UK does not currently operate a national ID card or single citizen identifier scheme. The new programme would introduce a voluntary digital credential that citizens could use across government services, potentially extending to private-sector identity verification in areas such as housing, employment, and financial services. The committee will seek written evidence submissions in due course and has asked potential contributors to review the standard requirements for providing evidence to House of Commons select committees. The inquiry page lists contact details for written submissions via the committee’s email address.

Sources: UK Parliament

–

By Ali Nassar-Smith